Bill Ash and the Bucket List

"My freshman philosophy professor assigned this exercise and called it a bucket list. You were supposed to make a list of all the things we wanted to do in our life before we kicked the bucket." -Carter, played by Morgan Freeman, speaking to Edward, played by Jack Nicholson, from the 2007 movie The Bucket List. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="200"] Ash shows off his newly acquired snowboarding skills. Photographs courtesy of William Ash.[/caption] When it comes to enjoying life, William "Bill" Ash, age 60, doesn't let anything get in his way, much less a 30-year-old knee injury. He and his wife Debra, age 57, are actively ticking items off their "bucket list" and adding more as they come to mind: Skydiving? Done. Hang-gliding? Done. Extreme white water rafting? Done. Ballroom dancing and guitar lessons? Ongoing. Snowboarding? Ongoing. Surfing and kayaking? Both are planned for this spring. And the list goes on. Ash recalls a few of his favorite list items. "I've raced stock cars, NASCARs.... You have a driver sitting beside you, but you're still going 180 miles per hour and you're driving and that's pretty exciting. We go white water rafting every year in West Virginia because that's the best in the country. We do all kinds of exciting things-that keeps us young. My biggest fear is to get to retirement age and sit on the porch and realize there are things I'll never get to do because I never tried.... I recommend this for everybody." Sources of Inspiration It's not their own looming mortality that spur this spry couple on but rather watching those around them succumb to age and illness. Ash says he noticed that his father's health quickly deteriorated after retirement because he had nothing more to do than to sit and stare. And his mother-in-law battled cancer and died prematurely. "She was about 64 and she had all sorts of plans for when she retired in about another year, and she didn't get to do any of that," Ash explains. "She died without getting to do all the things she wanted to do." [caption id="" align="alignright" width="200"] Ash fulfills a promise to his grandson by learning how to skateboard.[/caption] Though Ash and his wife did not wait for retirement before embarking on their adventures, they did wait until 2004, when their youngest child was out of the house. Ash started with the purchase of a Softail Custom Harley Davidson. And when Debra got tired of riding as a passenger, she got her motorcycle endorsement and her own Harley Davidson Softail Deluxe. The couple hasn't stopped riding, or playing, since. Their bucket list took on a deeper meaning when, a year and a half ago, Debra had a brain aneurism that ruptured. Miraculously, she survived without suffering any complications. "The surgeon said she's not even supposed to be alive," Ash says. The couple took this as an additional sign to live life to the fullest. "You never know when your day comes," Ash says. "If you think about it, people look forward to retirement, and then they don't have the money to do what they want to do or they're not physically able to do what they want to do or something of that nature, and I thought, well, I need to do these things now while I've got the money, while I'm capable." For Ash, capability has not come without a little help. "The only way I'm capable," he says, "is if I [wear a knee] brace." Defiance Comes in a Number of Forms Dennis Derhay, BOCO, with Hanger's Greenville Orthopedic Appliance Company, South Carolina, fabricated Ash's brace. "The main purpose of the brace is to keep his knee from rotating too far," Derhay explains. "[The brace] will completely protect the knee from rotation...and give him stability." Ash injured his right knee about 30 years ago while playing racquetball. He underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove the ligament. After rehab and recovery, he was fitted with a Lenox Hill knee brace. Ash continued to play racquetball "for years and years and years" after his surgery but "not without that knee brace on," he says. A second injury to his right knee-this time involving the cartilage-sustained ten years after the first, required a second arthroscopic surgery. "So I'm very careful with that knee," Ash says. Careful, by Ash's definition, means that he does not participate in athletic activities without wearing a knee brace. "We went snowboarding one time last year [at Sugar Mountain Resort in North Carolina]...," Ash recalls. "That's when I had the old knee brace, and it kind of fell apart, so that ended the snowboarding for the year. That's when I decided to see Dennis." According to Derhay, the visit was long overdue. "The first time I met [Ash], he came in with an ACL brace that...I didn't know...still existed," Derhay recalls. "He came in to have it refurbished, but there are certain components on that brace that you just can't get anymore.... And [Ash] didn't know that...there are nicer, sleeker, lighter, stronger, better ACL braces available. So I pulled out some samples...and he was really excited about...the possibility of getting something new, and we just proceeded from there." Derhay fit Ash with a new Defiance ACL brace from DonJoy, Vista, California, which was customized for Ash's active lifestyle. "We take into account height, weight, activity levels, what they want to do with the brace," Derhay explains. "You put all those factors together and try to find the best brace for the person's circumstance. [The Defiance] is a high-torque brace that a lot of times you'll see the football players wearing. There are different ways of designing it depending on...[the] amount of impact it will take. "[Ash's] can be adapted for ski boots," Derhay continues. "There are a bunch of ways to have it configured. We made sure it was waterproof so he can take surfing lessons." Adjustment Period Ash says that his children are still adjusting to their parents' new lifestyle, but he's sure that when they are older they will eventually understand that their parents are "living life to the fullest" rather than "participating in foolish antics." "The kids think we're crazy," Ash says, but "the grandkids think we're the most exciting people in the world. They call us 'cool.'" That's a compliment Ash and Debra love to hear. The couple has taken their family white water rafting and zip-lining, and now one son and daughter-in-law plan to accompany them to Sugar Mountain Resort this winter so they, too, can take snowboarding lessons. But that will have to wait, Ash says, because he recently fractured his wrist when his grandson was teaching him how to skateboard. Laura Hochnadel can be reached at linkEmail('laura','opedge.com');

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